1. Inconvenience or Hardship? 2. The Historical Background 3. Railway Management 4. When a Branch Line is Closed 5. Bus Services 6. Transport and Rural Life 7. Subsidy and Other Administration 8. Research Work 9. Case Histories.

Originally published in 1963, this book was the first to survey the rural transport problem as a whole, and it includes the results of extensive research in an important but until then neglected field. The issues of increased car ownership and the reduction of train and bus services and the social impact of this is discussed, as well the question of subsidies in the UK as a whole. Three area specific studies deal with the Lake District, Northumberland and Devon.